[Mayor Hall provided the following statement during a Zoom call with media earlier today. A video recording is available on the City Youtube channel.]
As we reflect on the information that’s come to light in recent days and weeks, it’s obvious that there were serious and unacceptable shortcomings in project structure and processes, oversight and information sharing on the parkade project. Bottom line: risk was not managed adequately.
We certainly understand the people of Prince George are extremely concerned and angry with what’s happened. You have every right to be.
We now know mistakes have happened at virtually every turn on this project. We understand people want someone to blame. It would be easy to point fingers without having all of the information. We’re not going to do that. We are committed, however, to understanding all the facts around what went wrong on this project, and ensuring that accountability is based on facts and evidence.
As the responsible body for the municipality, this council – and I as mayor – take the mistakes that happened very, very seriously. We are committed to full transparency and accountability, and to taking corrective measures to ensure these kinds of things cannot happen again.
Mistakes were made throughout this project. We have to ensure policies are in place to prevent the mistakes that took place. I want you to know, we are doing a thorough examination of how this situation happened and we are determined to find the answers for you the citizens of Prince George.
I want to turn now to some of the things we’re taking action on. Over the past while, we’ve initiated a thorough review of the parkade project to understand what happened, how it happened, and what our options are. If necessary, that will include putting in place new structures and policies to prevent the same thing from happening again. It’s extremely important to understand that we need to follow due process to get you the answers you deserve. That may take time. So, we’re asking for your patience.
We’ve already taken a number of actions, and will be pursuing a number of other measures to provide safeguards against future similar mistakes. Let me just outline some of the measures we have already taken or will be taking:
- Council has reduced the City Manager’s delegated authority to amend project budgets to five per cent of the project budget, up to a maximum of $100,000 per project.
- Council will review budget amendments that have been approved under that authority once every three months.
- Administration will soon recommend Council consider approving engaging external project management for the advisement services for the downtown YMCA daycare construction project starting this spring.
- We will consider engaging external project management services for other impending significant capital projects.
- Administration will recommend that Council approve conducting an external review of the City’s capital project management processes and develop a new project management framework to provide consistency in how projects are delivered.
In addition to these measures, we’re also taking the following actions:
- We’ve passed a resolution directing the Acting City Manager to pursue options for an internal or external auditor to review future capital projects.
- We’re seeking a legal review of the parkade project to fully understand where it went wrong and why, and to provide recommendations for processes to minimize the risk of something like this happening again.
- We’re seeking a legal review of our current delegated authority, including the revised Sustainable Finance Guidelines, to ensure we have it right and minimize the risk to the City.
- We’re also developing a whistleblower policy that ensures all city employees and elected officials have a clear, confidential roadmap to bring their concerns forward.
We are committed to sharing the results of all of these actions with the residents of Prince George in a clear and timely fashion.
Before I close, I want to assure you that City Council and City Administration are committed to working together, to fixing the mistakes that have taken place, and to rebuilding the trust you’ve placed in us. Together, we’re committed to making Prince George a better, stronger, and more vibrant city. We will move forward together, and certainly we will work together through this process.